Love Bird Information.

[STEVE85]

They are both good looking birds.
Skeebie has some beautiful colours.
I noticed they did have a pick at some apple that up put in the cage for them. So they are obviously getting used to trying new things.
Do their colours get brighter when they mature ? All the Love Birds I have seen have had brighter cheeks but I'd say they would of been mature ones.
Do you need a breeders licence for the them to breed? I dont plan on going into breeding but if it happens and they lays eggs and I get chicks I just don't want to get caught out.
If she does lay eggs how many chicks do they normally have?

 

[TwoCrows]

They will be fully feathered and mature at one year. Young birds look faded until about a year. I can't remember exactly when my Lovebirds were in full color and bloom. Yours are still babies, so give them time.

You don't need a license to breed them if you are breeding for fun. You can let yours breed and have chicks and it isn't against the law or anything. But if you do go into selling and such, your state may require you get a license and a clean bill of health for your birds.

Great that they are trying the apple! My Skebbie loved grapes, apples, peaches, pretty much everything she saw me eat.

 

[STEVE85]

Ok cool, so it doesn't need to be hard fruit they eat, they will eat soft as well?
Yeah, I will be only breeding for fun, maybe sell some off to friends and relatives but nothing commercial.
How are they in the hot and cold weather?
I am just worried about putting them in the aviary because Bathurst has been getting ridiculous temperatures at the moment, today is supposed to get to 41 and then we get into the minuses in the winter.

 

[chippy99th]

Lovebirds' colors depend on what variety they are, not their gender. Males and females of the same variety are the same color. That's partly why they are so hard to sex. Like I said, we weren't sure about Jeffrey until she started laying eggs!

I have no idea about cold weather. Jeffrey sleeps outside at night in her cage on the porch. We cover her cage with a couple thick blankets at night in the winter and bring her inside on nights that freeze, just in case. But it hardly ever gets that low here.

They do fine in heat. They are native to Africa and part of the reason they have thrived here is the heat. I live in Arizona -it gets into the 110+ degrees here regularly (for days on end) in the summer. The native flocks do fine. Jeffrey always does well, just as long as she has plenty of water for drinking and baths, shade of course, and sometimes cool treats.

One thing I forgot -noodles! They love noodles. Just not too much. Moderation in all things.

Here is my Jeffrey, she is a few years old now:



That's the sock sling she likes to sleep in, in the winter I use wool socks for added warmth. Cardboard tubes and paper are also favorite toys. That orange puffball in the picture was demolished in under a week.



This is a nesting behavior, from what I've heard females are more prone to doing it so it might be a clue as to your birds' genders. If you can see, she's neatly cut several paper strips and tucked them into her tail, like a long wedding dress train. It's how they carry material to build nests with, much more efficient than carrying it piece by piece.

Jeffrey loves doing this and I have several books with uneven edges because of it!



These are the three eggs she laid this winter. She's laid two or three every winter since becoming mature, I don't know why as all the lovebirds around here nest in the summer and she lives outside, so you'd think she'd be in sync. But anyway, since they're not fertile I take them, because otherwise she'd just sit on them forever. Not that she sits consistently, or knows how to build a nest. She just knows she's supposed to do SOMETHING with these things!

Sorry for the infodump and picture overload. I can't resist a chance to brag.

 

[STEVE85]

Oh wow, you all the way in America, I thought you were local

Nah,
Send as many pics as you like, Jeffery is one good looking bird.
With the noodles, do you mean cooked or dry?
I am also guessing you just mean the 2 minute noodles ?
Yeah I can see the paper strip in the pic, I have a large library so that's probably a good thing.
They lay decent sized eggs too, looking at the pic.
I always make sure they have water and I have put a bath for them in the bottom of he cage.
I got home from work today and they had both had a bath, they looked like drowned rats

How long have you had Birds for ?

 

[TwoCrows]

Beautiful bird Chippy!!

I can see it in Jeffery's eyes just how much she is loved!

Steve, Lovebirds are tropical birds and can't tolerate really cold temps. They do tolerate warm temps quite well. The recommendations are 60 degrees Fahrenheit, (15.5 C) or above. You may be able to acclimate them to a bit cooler temps but definitely no freezing temps.

 

[chippy99th]

Noodles, I usually just give her a pasta noodle from whatever I'm eating before I add sauce. I've heard of people giving them uncooked as well, but don't quote me on that. And yeah, they look pretty hilarious right after a bath! It's so funny to watch. And they make a routine of it. Jeffrey always takes a bath first thing in the morning when I change the water out.

Jeffrey's the only bird I've had since a rather crotchety old parakeet we sort of inherited when I was a kid. She is 3 1/2 years old. I wasn't planning on getting a bird, but my uncle found her after a storm and I'm the crazy animal lady in the family.

So whatever I know, I've kind of picked up along the way.

I thought you were in America! I guess I haven't caught up with technology, haha. It seems to me that if you can have a conversation with somebody, then logically they must be somewhere near you!

PS Thanks for the compliments. She IS a beautiful bird

 

[STEVE85]

Ha ha ha
Nah not quite what you'd call a local, I am from Australia.
A town called Bathurst to be exact.
I am a bit of an animal lover too, 2 rabbits, 2 cats, 3 chickens, and a tank full of tropical fish.
Morning is like feeding time at the zoo

Harold and Tina haven't hit the water today for some reason, it's hotter today than yesterday.
I have got a cold wet towel draped over their cage too, so that may be helping.
We have just had major fire warnings so it's definetly a scorcher today.
It's probably the complete opposite where you are.
I have had the odd cockatiel here and there but have always fancied the Love Birds for some reason but never had one.
They just seem like a happy sort of bird.
Yeah I had the same idea about a decent down to earth conversation, you must be just around the corner. Ha ha ha.